Pandemic Does Not Prevent Pertamina From Continuing Construction Of Refineries In Balikpapan

JAKARTA - President Director of PT Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, said that many questioned how the oil refineries were being built. One of them is in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

Nieke said, although currently the COVID-19 pandemic is hitting Indonesia, the construction of an oil refinery in Balikpapan is continuing. About 5,000 workers at the refinery continue to be deployed to complete the project.

"There are lots of questions about the progress of the refinery construction. This is Balikpapan, although with a pandemic position, this is still going on. There are more than 5,000 workers who continue to work in Balikpapan," he said, during a hearing with Commission VII DPR, Wednesday, July 1.

Furthermore, Nicke explained, the number of workers will be added again at the end of the year. Pertamina is committed to prioritizing workers who come from around the refinery area, one of which is Penajam Paser Utara.

"It will increase again in peak time when the progress is in midfield next year. It has reached 20 thousand workers in Balikpapan. Most of them must come from within the country," he said.

The Balikpapan Refinery RDMP project continues to show positive progress. This project is still on the track to ensure that national energy resilience and independence can be realized soon. https://t.co/YsSyN40Faq#energitakberhenti#BUMNforIndonesia#PertaminaSiagaCovid19#CovidSafeBUMN pic.twitter.com/taGQTdEVZi

- PERTAMINA (PERTamina) May 28, 2020

Currently, said Nicke, Pertamina continues to accelerate the construction of refineries, while optimizing the involvement of the domestic industry in the Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) and Grass Root Refinery (GRR) projects. Optimization has been carried out through the formation of the PT Pertamina (Persero) Refinery Development Acceleration Team.

Nicke said that the refinery construction project is spread across several locations. Apart from Balikpapan, there are also in Dumai, Plaju, Cilacap, Balongan, Balikpapan, Tuban, and other areas in Eastern Indonesia which have been running until 2027.

According to Nicke, the contract for the Balikpapan RDMP refinery project reaches US $ 40 billion. Pertamina itself meets the investment needs with capital or equity and loans with a portion of 40-60.

"So 40 percent is equity, 60 percent is from the loan," he said.

For your information, the progress of the construction of the Balikpapan RDMP refinery is divided into four jobs, namely engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning.

Nicke explained that the Balikpapan RDMP will increase the refinery processing capacity from 260 thousand barrels per day to 360 thousand barrels per day and improve the quality of fuel products from Euro II to Euro V equivalent.The Balikpapan RDMP project is also synergized with the construction of the New Crude Lawe-Lawe Tankage Facility with a storage capacity of 2 million barrels.

"So crude from anywhere can be accommodated here. Later, we will blend it so that it is adjusted to the most optimal specifications, resulting in the best gross margin for the Balikpapan refinery," he explained.